hi all,
i've got a "sailfin pleco"(Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps?) that i've had for about 18 months i my 77 gal. he was about 2 inches when i got him and now is about 8-10 long.
about a year ago i noticed that he was not growing symmetrical, on one side his fins were slightly smaller and a bit deformed. then a few months later i began to notice that there were strange bumpy/filamentous growths along the forward part of the deformed fins. the growths then began appearing on his body and especially two, each on his underside close to his gill slits that sort of look like a sea anenome, although the color is roughly the same as the rest of him.
he then began to pass abnormal faeces that were sometimes normal color but thin, intermittently with long colorless jelly like strands. his faeces are probably 10 ins of clear to 2 ins reg color all in one long strand that can reach 20+ ins now because of this condition.
now the growths are on various parts of his body. they are even in his throat area, i can see the filiments flowing in his mouth when he's stuck to the glass.
if anything i figure that it could just be genetic defects. but if so, then it must be more than a surface problem and also be inside in his organs etc, hence the strange faeces.
if not that then it might also be cancer that's spreading. if this is it would the growths not also show up on the thin membranes of the fins, they should have tiny veins for tumors to lodge in?
anyways i'm thinking abou euthanizing him, any help would be appreciated, thanks.
i've got a "sailfin pleco"(Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps?) that i've had for about 18 months i my 77 gal. he was about 2 inches when i got him and now is about 8-10 long.
about a year ago i noticed that he was not growing symmetrical, on one side his fins were slightly smaller and a bit deformed. then a few months later i began to notice that there were strange bumpy/filamentous growths along the forward part of the deformed fins. the growths then began appearing on his body and especially two, each on his underside close to his gill slits that sort of look like a sea anenome, although the color is roughly the same as the rest of him.
he then began to pass abnormal faeces that were sometimes normal color but thin, intermittently with long colorless jelly like strands. his faeces are probably 10 ins of clear to 2 ins reg color all in one long strand that can reach 20+ ins now because of this condition.
now the growths are on various parts of his body. they are even in his throat area, i can see the filiments flowing in his mouth when he's stuck to the glass.
if anything i figure that it could just be genetic defects. but if so, then it must be more than a surface problem and also be inside in his organs etc, hence the strange faeces.
if not that then it might also be cancer that's spreading. if this is it would the growths not also show up on the thin membranes of the fins, they should have tiny veins for tumors to lodge in?
anyways i'm thinking abou euthanizing him, any help would be appreciated, thanks.
